The National Missile Defense System is the First Step to Another Cold War and the United States Should Not Do It

The National Missile Defense System is the First Step to Another Cold War and the United States Should Not Do It

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The National Missile Defense System is the First Step to Another Cold War and the United States Should Not Do It

As we begin the twenty-first century, an increasing number of states around the world are acquiring nuclear capabilities. The sense of insecurity by individual governments is driving many states into developing and testing ballistic missiles. In the mean time, the United States finds itself in a position to develop new technology that will protect themselves against these potential missile strikes. The development of a national anti-ballistic missile defense system has sparked many controversies around the United States. Advocates of the system argue that it is only a defensive measure, but they fail to see the…show more content…

(Beard)
Disturbed by the Rumsfeld report, Capital Hill responded immediately by passing two bills. The first bill known as S. 257 stated, "It is the policy of the United States to deploy as soon as is technologically possible an effective National Missile Defense system capable of defending the territory of United States against limited ballistic missile attack". The S.257 was followed by a second bill named H.R. 4 passed in March of 1999 that stated, "It is the policy of the United States to deploy a national missile defense." (Policy.com)
The proposal of the National Missile Defense System by Capitol Hill is a clear example of the international security dilemma, where the United States' desire to become more secure compromises other states' security. By setting up a missile defense to escape the power of other states, this will only create insecurity in the international arena that will prompt other states to react with their own missile defense system. This dynamia can also be seen through the prisoner's dilemma diagram (Figure 1). The United States fears for the worst possibility so it arms itself to increase its protection. It does not trust the other players in the international community and does not want to

War. Humans have thrived from war for as long as we can remember. The United States has been fighting wars ever since we found the new country in North America that we now call the United States. We fought against our selves for the freedom of others. We fought in several world wars. We have always fought. But in the late 1940's “war” changed forever. This was well known as the Cold War. Why was this so different? “ The world had never experienced anything like it. The Cold War between the Soviet…

The Cold War was the name given to the time period from 1945 to 1991. After World War II, tensions began between the United States and the Soviet Union. Fighting between the United States and Soviet Union did not happen directly against each other. Instead they fought with arms races, space races, and spying. Both superpowers set aside their differences to defeat Adolf Hitler, even before the war the United States distrusted the Soviet Union. The United States disliked the way the Soviet Union ran…

The Need for a National Missile Defense Program in the United States
Several hundred Soviet, nuclear tipped, ballistic missiles streak towards the United States without any form of opposition or challenge to their impeding destruction. The result of a situation like this would be no doubt disastrous, but it is a situation that could very well take place if the United States does not install a national ballistic missile defense program. An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system is a precaution…

World War Two, the world was split into two, east and west. This marked the beginning of an era called the Cold War. The Cold War was the most subtle war in history, but the world came very close to a nuclear war that had the potential to inevitably wipe out mankind. The two main opponents in this war were the Soviet Union and the United States. With Canada being the United States neighbour to the north and close to The Soviet Union geographically, Canada allied itself with the United States. This…

the United States from Nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction through the National Missile Defense Program
Ever since nuclear weapons of mass destruction have existed, people have been attempting to create ways to prevent a war that would bring about a worldwide Arma-geddon. Many of today’s top military and government officials have been studying ways in which the United States can protect itself from a nuclear missile attack. What they have come up with is the National Missile Defense program…

National Missile Defense
Historical Perspective
On March 23, 1983, through a nationally televised address to the nation, then President Ronald Reagan envisioned a ”Star Wars” defense system to replace the existing element of mutual deterrence between the two Cold War superpowers. The system calls for a high-tech impenetrable ballistic missile shield for the United States. The speech marks the birth of the Strategic Defense Initiative1 (SDI). It came about when the Soviets then had numerical…

- Analysis of U.S. grand strategy during the Vietnam War cannot be fully understood without placing it in the context of the Cold War and the foreign policy of “containment.” In this context, details indicate that realist, liberalist, and constructivist theories all contributed to U.S. grand strategy at the time. However, more detailed analysis reveals that, while defensive realism was guiding foreign policy during this period of the cold war, offensive realism was the predominant theory guiding…

The Missile Defense System of the United States
Abstract
When Ronald Reagan was in the Presidency, he and his staff came up with the idea for a missile defense system that would defend the country in the event of a nuclear missile attack. This system was named "Star Wars" and the basic principal behind it was that it would be a shield that covered all fifty states. However, government officials soon realized that Reagan's defense system was impossible to build, so the program was dropped,…

The United States and the Beginning of the Cold War
a) There were three cracks evident between the US-Soviet relationship.
America and Russia argued about the opening of a second front against
Germany. Stalin’s plans where that America and Britain invade western
Europe so the Russian Red Army gets stronger and pressure on them is
relieved. Roosevelt promised a second front by the time of 1942, but
the delay of plans for an Anglo-American invasion of German-occupied…

Should the U.S. build a National Missile Defense System?
“What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security didn’t depend upon the threat of instant U.S. retaliation to deter an enemy attack?”
Ronald Reagan; 1983
In his speech of March 23, 1983, President Reagan presented his vision of a future where a Nation’s security did not rest upon the threat of nuclear retaliation, but on the ability to protect and defend against such attacks. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)…